I heard, from many sources (which I can’t remember, now), that Rep. Senger is stronly pro-choice. I heard Balkema say that he’s pro-life.
I don’t know why Obama did so well, in the 8th District. Duckworth got a lower percentage than Obama, in her district, so that district had a lot of split-ticket voting.
Here’s an article on Darlene Senger’s pro-life bill that got voted out of committee and pissed off liberals: http://www.lifenews.com/2011/03/16/illinois-panel-passes-pro-life-bill-on-abortion-center-regs/
Senger also voted against authorizing same-sex marriage in IL: http://votesmart.org/bill/votes/46320#.UuBSfunD-70
The IL-11 is a suburban Chicago district that Obama carried by over 17% in 2012 (and by nearly 24% in 2008), so we can’t expect a 100% social conservative to beat Foster in that district. And unlike, say, the Rock Island/Miline/Rockford/Peoria/Galesburg IL-17, which Obama also carried by 17% but which is filled with blue-collar Democrats who are more socially conservative, the IL-11 includes Aurora, Naperville and other suburbs that aren’t hotbeds of social conservatism. Senger may be as socially conservative a candidate as could win that district.